Fulton Commendation for Skorpion
Zinc project
The Skorpion Zinc Joint Venture, SPJV, between BATEMAN and SNC-LAVALIN
has been awarded a Fulton Commendation for overall civil engineering
for excellence in the use of concrete on the Skorpion Zinc project.
The awards, in different categories,
honour excellence in the construction industry and are made every second
year by the Concrete Society of Southern Africa to acknowledge professionals,
contractors and owners for their outstanding achievements and determination
to challenge new frontiers. The history of the awards includes many
major projects completed in South and Southern Africa.
The Skorpion Zinc project encompassed the design and
construction of a greenfields zinc refinery and associated infrastructure
with a production design capacity of 150 000 t/yr of super-high-grade
zinc. The project is remotely located within the Karas region of southern
Namibia, within the sparse, arid and environmentally sensitive Sperrgebiet
area.
This remote location presented huge challenges to
the civil engineers with respect to the logistics involved in importing
construction materials and skilled labour over thousands of kilometres.
This is highlighted when considering that the only sources of water
for concrete construction were initially two 110 diameter pipelines
running a distance 45 km from the Orange River. The use of structural
concrete therefore brought about both cost and time savings through
maximising the use of local resources.
The hot, dry and windy site environment demanded that
special attention be given to the construction activities, which included
regulating casting times of concrete, curing of concrete and cooling
of aggregates, all against the backdrop of a tight construction schedule
and limited water resources. A wide range of concrete design approaches
and construction methodologies was adopted throughout, with particular
attention paid to the constructability of each structure.
The civil highlights included the following structures:
